In February 2005, some 13 year old punk stole his dad's newly restored '74 Volkswagen and took it on a little joyride with his 12 year old friend. As a result of his exploits that one fateful day, the "Wagen" decided to engage in a hostile takeover of my wife's '97 Buick Skylark while still in our driveway. As a result, the insurance company totaled the Buick, thus the need for a new vehicle, but not the new monthly payments.
Since my wanted "something different", we began looking at oddities and the Honda Element's unique appearance intrigued my bride of 15 years. The first thing that was noticed when we test drove the Element was that she didn't sit as low to the ground as the previously slain Skylark. She really liked the SUV-like qualities of the Element starting with the 15" alloy five-spoke wheels which help quiet the ride considering that it's almost like riding in a panel van because of the lack of carpeting, which isn't necessarily a bad thing since we DO have kids. And speaking of the kids, the back seats are slightly more elevated than the front seats giving them a theater-like seating which allows occupants in the back an almost unobstructed view of the road and everything else. Adults may not like being awkwardly higher than everyone else and the higher seating tends to exaggerate body roll during turns. There is a power port in the dash in front of the passenger seat and one in the rear cargo compartment behind the rear passenger seat so the rugrats won't fight over which one will be using it to power his/her Game Boy. That is unless there's an mp3 player being used to play music through the not-too-shabby sound system which is a decent sounding 270-watt seven speaker system including a 6.5" subwoofer! Next to the front power port is an auxiliary input for exactly that purpose. The rear and front seats will recline to a horizontal position and with the front headrests removed, they turn into a makeshift bed, although not entirely comfortable. Additionally, the rear seats can be removed from the floor and hung on the rear hand grips that are mounted in the ceiling. This is designed to free up floor space for transporting whatever you may need to on the floor. It is strongly suggested that no less than two people attempt this since the seats are considerably heavy. In the rear cargo area, there are two storage locations on either side of the car just aft of the rear wheels. The spare is tucked under the floor very nicely and all accommodations are well planned and placed.
Driving is pretty much straight forward with the 4-speed auto transmission and power is adequate from the 160 hp 2.4liter 4-cylinder engine. I was surprised at how much gas this sucker drinks! Considering the fact that it's a 4-banger, it gets around 18 mpg in the city. I get that with double the cylinders in my Chevy Silverado pickup! The afore mentioned Skylark is a front wheel drive car with the usual torque steer, but the Honda's torque steer is really pronounced and tends to pull to the right on acceleration. We live on the South Plains of Texas where average wind speeds are around 20 to 25 mph and gusts of 50 or more aren't unheard of. Because the Element is taller than we're used to and light, winds will push this car all over the road at higher speeds. Braking is handled nicely with the ABS system and 4-wheel disc brakes. Other features include 2-speed intermittent wipers, rear window wiper/washer, cruise control, power locks with power locking tailgate, power windows and side mirrors. One thing that bothered me immensely is the position of the arm rests. I'm only 5'7" so I'm not considered tall at all and the arm rests are mounted in a freakishly low position. So low, in fact that it's extremely uncomfortable on long trips. Speaking of long trips, this vehicle is adequate as far as comfort for the passengers, but for me, I find that driving this car on long trips is marginally comfortable at best. It's my wife's car, she can do the driving!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 18,930
Condition: New Model Year: 2004 Model and Options: LE, Automatic, 270-watt Sound System
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.